Art Blakey Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
The band led by drummer Art Blakey (center) groomed more than 150 alumni members, including saxophonist Wayne Shorter and trumpeter Lee Morgan. Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images hide caption
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sees off a group of Freedom Riders as they board a bus for Jackson, Miss., on May 24, 1961. Paul Schutzer/Life hide caption
Gary Bartz performs at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. The saxophonist is often cited as a messenger of black empowerment in music. David Redfern/Redferns hide caption
Art Blakey: 'The Best of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers'
With many young talents under his tutelage, Art Blakey has often been called the father of hard bop. David Referns/Redferns hide caption
Art Blakey counts Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard and Terence Blanchard among his Jazz Messengers alumni. And that's the short list. Roland Godefroy hide caption